Always for You
by Isica
Summary: Mary has been let down yet again. This time it breaks her heart. But there is one person who has always stood by her. Takes place in Season 4. Ignore the terrible summary, the story is much better!
1. Chapter 1

Always For You

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. They belong to Showtime and history. Initial dialogue taken from the series.

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'My sweet lady. My poor sweet lady.'

Eustace Chapuys held (to his mind, at least) the rightful princess and heir to the throne of England as she cried against him, all her deepest fears and worries coming out as tears down her cheeks. Unconsciously he placed his other arm around her and drew her into a hug. Mary still sobbed against his chest, now quite beside herself in grief and despair.

Eventually he grew worried, and extricated himself from Mary and went to the door to summon a physician. He returned to Mary and sat back down just in time to hear her say in between gasping sobs, 'I think he did this to me. The king used his wives to break my heart.' Then she slid off the seat and collapsed in a heap on the floor.

Chapuys, despite his gout, was about to immediately leap off the seat next to her side when a noise at the door made him look up. The physician and, white as a sheet and shaking, His Majesty the King stood there. Chapuys realised that Henry had heard every word Mary said.

Without a sound, Henry moved as fast as his ulcer would allow to his daughter's side. He knelt down and cradled his daughter's head in his arms. Mary was as pale as Henry, but Chapuys noticed with a sickening feeling that she had never looked more like her mother.

Henry ripped off her hairpiece and the physician shook the pins loose. Mary moaned and the king looked stricken. Two of her trusted ladies entered and they helped the physician escort Mary onto her bed.

'It will be alright, Your Majesty,' the physician said reassuringly. 'It is likely just an imbalance of the humours. Now I must tend to the lady.'

He left and Henry turned and slumped back against the wall. He covered his eyes with his hand as Chapuys silently watched.

'Am I such a bad father?' Henry asked suddenly. Chapuys said nothing. Honesty was bad for his freedom.

Henry continued. 'I give Mary everything. I even allow her heresy. So why?'

Chapuys still said nothing. He knew Henry. These questions were rhetorical. Henry knew the answers. He was just afraid of admitting them out loud.

Henry stood up. 'I should not be here when she wakes. Stay with her. She trusts you, evidently.'

'Your Majesty, maybe you should stay with your daughter...' Chapuys started, then stopped. He knew Henry did not like sick people.

'No!' Henry said. 'You shall bring word when she awakens.' And with that, he strode out of the room.

Chapuys rolled his eyes at the king's predictable behaviour. He stood up stiffly and went to Mary's room.

At his entrance the physician looked up. Chapuys held up his hand.

'I am not here to disturb your work,' he said in his soft voice. 'The king has ordered me to stay with the princess and report when she awakes.'

The physician nodded assent and servants found a chair so Chapuys could sit near the bed.

He contemplated her as she slept. She looked young, but so very like her mother in her later years. Old and young mixed up together. Mary had lived many lifetimes in her short life. And she was right. Henry had destroyed each of them. He'd destroyed her "pearl" years when the security of her childhood came crashing down around her with the arrival of Anne Boleyn. He'd destroyed her safety when he executed Anne Boleyn and she signed the oath, terrified. He'd destroyed her marriage hopes over and over again. He'd destroyed her mothering dreams watching Queen Jane labour and die. He'd attempted to destroy her friendship with Anne of Cleves when they'd divorced and now his current wife had used her power over Henry to destroy the small circle of trust and friendship she had with her ladies.

Mary was right. Henry had broken her heart.

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He didn't know how long he had been sitting there with her. The physician and ladies were sitting by the fire at the other end of the room. He had Mary's hand in his and his head was resting against his free hand. His eyelids were contemplating closing when he felt a pressure on his hand. He looked to see Mary staring straight at him.

'Mary! Princess, you are awake. How are you feeling?' Chapuys asked, waving the physician over with his free hand.

'Tired,' Mary murmured as the physician reached her side. He examined her, then said to them both, 'Her Grace needs rest, and then she will be much better.'

'I must report to the king that you are awake and recovering, princess. I will return,' Chapuys said and, greatly daring, bent to kiss her forehead. He knew he did not dream her subtle intake of breath and jagged exhale. As he made his way to the king he pondered it. Maybe it was because she had never been kissed by a man other than her father. No, that couldn't be right. Philip of Bavaria had kissed her.

She was simply disoriented. That would be it.

He entered the Great Hall and proceeded to the king's rooms. To his disgust, Henry was there with his silly little queen who was playing with a kitten.

'Your Majesties,' Chapuys announced. 'I am pleased to inform you Lady Mary has awoken and is recovering. She simply needs rests.'

'Splendid,' Henry beamed. 'We must give thanks to Our Lord it is nothing serious. Catherine, will you accompany me to the chapel?'

As Catherine looked sour at the news of Mary's recovery, she hid it remarkably quickly as she turned to her husband. 'Of course, your Majesty,' she smiled sweetly at him.

You fool, thought Chapuys as he watched them exit the room. Visiting Mary now would show how much you do love her, and you can't even do that. And your Howard whore won't even try to look pleased. No wonder Mary was upset.

He made his way back to Mary's rooms slowly, his gout and several enquiries about Mary's health delaying him. Apparently, Mary was not entirely friendless in the kingdom, if all the enquiries were sincere, and he had been at this court long enough to judge the English character.

He entered her rooms and found the physician there with Mary who was still awake, though barely.

'Princess, your father has been informed of the state of your health, and many of the court send their regards,' he said. 'I will call on you tomorrow, as the physician said you needed rest.'

'Thank you Chapuys,' Mary murmured tiredly and her eyes closed even before Chapuys had bowed and left the room.

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Good, bad, believable? Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

Always For You

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. They belong to Showtime and history.

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Chapuys meant to visit Mary the next day but a sudden flurry of diplomatic tussles meant that that he was kept busy for the better part of a month, writing dispatches to the Emperor and back-to-back meetings with other ambassadors and Henry. Indeed, the correspondence from the other Spanish ambassadors in Europe occupied almost half the day.

Eventually the dust settled and Chapuys allowed himself the luxury of a day's rest. Henry had banned any court business that day and he intended to fully obey this edict. He suspected most of the other ambassadors around Europe were doing the same.

He slept late the next morning, pulled on fresh clothing, broke his fast alone in his rooms in the quiet, gave his valet the day off too in an uncharacteristic show of generosity and spent much of the day in front of the fire, reading or dozing. He hated to admit he was tired. _'Either I am getting old,'_ he thought, _'or the game has changed and diplomacy must now be as rigorous as hunting.'_ His only consolation was that Marillac looked as exhausted as he did. _'Well if you do represent the most important powers in Europe, this level of activity is to be expected in a situation,'_ he thought gloomily.

He was debating whether or not to go to the Great Hall for the feast when he suddenly remembered his promise to Mary. He shot up from his chair so fast his gouty legs buckled and he fell back into the chair again.

Carefully, he got up again and reached for his cane. The realisation and subsequent guilt that he had ignored Mary for a month made him groan inwardly as he made his way to Mary's rooms.

She was not there. What was more, the room had been emptied. A passing maid informed him politely that the Lady Mary had gone to her London house to convalesce from her illness about three weeks ago. A second surge of guilt ran through Chapuys as he realised he hadn't even noticed.

There was nothing for it now but to go to the great hall. He sat there with the other ambassadors, looking but not seeing his surroundings and eating but not tasting his food. His silence attracted the attention of the other ambassadors; as although their countries may be friends or enemies (or occasionally both, somehow), the ambassadors tried to put their differences aside at mealtimes, where for Henry's amusement they were forced to sit together, or religious events, especially when the majority were Catholic in Henry's heretic England. Chapuys was generally an advocate of this (even with the French ambassador, whose countrymen he detested with a passion), as he believed that constant antagonism did not solve anything (scheming for Mary's mother notwithstanding) and all the ambassadors needed a break from it. Chapuys did not often have much to say, but he always gave the impression of listening to the conversation around him in whatever language it was in and occasionally added remarks in his soft voice which carried a great deal of weight and wisdom. Therefore his preoccupied silence was unsettling.

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The next day, Chapuys borrowed a horse from the royal stables and rode alone to Princess Mary's house. He regretted this decision about five minutes in, as his body began protesting the exercise.

Chapuys calculated he had several hours before he would be missed as his sole meeting that day was not until late afternoon. It would give him enough time to get to the Princess' house, apologise for not visiting, enquire after her health, update her on the news at court and return to the palace. All would be fine.

He arrived at Mary's London house and handed the reins to a groom who had come running out. He announced himself and requested to see the Princess Mary, upon which he was escorted into the house.

Chapuys limped into a drawing room, where Mary sat with her ladies. He noted that the Howard girl had indeed been true to her word and removed two of her ladies.

Mary stood. 'Excellency,' she said formally.

'Princess,' he said bowing before her and kissing her outstretched hand. He stepped back and the hand holding his cane wobbled as his legs again protested the riding.

Mary regarded him thoughtfully. 'Perhaps your Excellency would prefer to sit?'' she said, gesturing to the chair opposite hers.

'I am most grateful, Princess,' Chapuys said as he sank down thankfully. 'It appears that riding is for the young.'

Mary laughed, then said, 'The Duke of Norfolk still rides and I was not aware he was still young.'

'Perhaps I should have said that riding is for those without gout, princess. If his Grace had it, I doubt he would ride as much.'

'Indeed, and what news from court? That is why you are here, yes Excellency?' Mary changed the subject abruptly and she sat down.

Chapuys gave her the news that he had, which wasn't much. Definitely not enough to warrant a visit to see her anyway.

When he had finished, his eyes flicked to her ladies, whom he didn't really want in there during his apology, and back to Mary. She seemed to understand because she sent away her ladies and looked at him expectantly.

Chapuys took a deep breath. 'Princess,' he said. 'It is true I came to give you the news at court, but my primary reason was to enquire after your health and to apologise for not visiting you after I had said I would. Unfortunately there was a diplomatic crisis and I was kept very busy. Please accept my apologies.'

Mary stared, then said softly, 'Excellency, I admit I was confused when you did not visit, but then I heard of the crisis and I was not surprised. You have no need to apologise for doing your job.'

This wasn't right. He was supposed to console her, not the other way around. Chapuys leaned forwards, Mary unconsciously mirroring him. 'This is true, but I was...concerned for your health Princess after our last encounter. And I generally prefer to keep my word.' He stopped. He was so close to Mary he could smell her, the rosewater that perfumed her clothes and the orange blossom scent from her skin, reminding him of the last time she was this close to him, crying into his shoulder.

He loved the scent of orange blossom. He always associated it with Mary. It was a scent she had uniquely made her own. It was almost intoxicating and he felt a definite wave of desire course through him.

As if sensing his thoughts, Mary began to breathe a little more heavily and Chapuys idly noted the curve of her chest as it heaved. She bit her lip unconsciously and he inwardly groaned as he felt a rush of blood to his groin.

Mary stood up and Chapuys followed her. 'Thank you Eustace,' she said. 'I am glad I can always depend on you.' And she embraced him.

Chapuys stood rigid, not daring to move. If he did, Mary would realise just how aroused he was and panic. Best to stay still.

When she moved back, he bowed low. 'It is always my pleasure to serve you, princess,' and with that he walked towards the door as quickly as he could.

Chapuys slumped against the wall outside, breathing heavily; glad there was no one in sight. This was a nightmare. If anyone realised just how deeply aroused he was by Mary – _and just by her scent and her biting her lips, for the love of God_ – he was ruined. Gathering his thoughts, he quickly left the house and rode away without looking back. Although, if he had, he would have seen Mary slump down after he did, then watch from a window until he was out of sight.

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What will Chapuys do? Find out next chapter and review!


	3. Chapter 3

Always For You

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. They belong to Showtime and history.

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Henry had called a meeting of all the ambassadors before he left for progress. It was a warm day and the room was small. There appeared to be a lot to discuss.

Chapuys couldn't care less however. Since the day he had last seen Mary, he had been turning the encounter over and over in his mind. Not unnaturally, he had been difficult to work with and several colleagues were currently praying for patience and sanity in their dealings with him.

As Henry droned on, Chapuys came to a realisation. He loved Mary. This wasn't the first time this thought had occurred, but it was the first time he really knew. And judging by some of her reactions, she wasn't oblivious to him either. His eyes widened at this insight.

The Venetian ambassador, sitting opposite, quirked his eyebrows at him. Chapuys twitched and a hint of a smile played around the man's lips.

With this knowledge hanging over him, Chapuys spent the rest of the meeting in a daze. When the ambassadors were dismissed, he realised he had not taken in a word of what was said. He could probably persuade one of the others to give him an overview. He toyed with the idea of confiding his problem to a suitably discreet person without mentioning Mary's name then mentally shook himself. What was he thinking? He couldn't tell anyone. People had died for less! Chapuys returned to his rooms and spent the rest of the day brooding.

A few days later, he was informed that Mary had requested to see him before the progress. He groaned inwardly at the message, already anticipating the awkward tension between them. Nevertheless, he must obey the summons. Chapuys decided to just get it over with and visit her now.

He was announced and entered her rooms. 'Princess,' he began. 'You requested to see me?'

'Yes Excellency,' Mary replied. She nodded to her ladies. 'You may go.'

They filed out and Chapuys was alone with Mary, which did not help matters. He caught the scent of orange blossom and rosewater and felt his breathing become slightly ragged.

Mary apparently did not notice. 'Excellency, I know you are very busy but I wished to say goodbye to you before the progress. I know you are not going of course...'

'Princess...' Chapuys tried to stop the conversation so he could leave before she went to his head but it was too late. Her beauty and scent were intoxicating and he dug his nails into his palms to keep him in reality.

'But they are taking me! Father says I am beloved by the North and they will be pleased to see me! I have never met so many people who loved me!' She spun round in delight and landed right in front of Chapuys, facing him.

Chapuys' professionalism broke at that speech. Before he could stop himself, he said quietly, 'There are many of us who love you, Princess.'

Mary froze and her eyes widened. She looked Chapuys straight in the eyes as her breath hitched and she unconsciously licked her lips.

He couldn't stand it anymore. Even if he died for it, it would be worth it. Chapuys dropped his cane, grabbed Mary by the shoulders, pulled her towards him and crashed his lips down onto hers.

After the initial shock, Mary dipped her arms under his and pushed herself against him. The still rational part of Chapuys' brain reeled at the thought of Mary encouraging him. Hesitantly he used his tongue to caress her lips and slid his right hand to the small of her back.

At the sensation Mary moaned quietly against his lips and the sound of desire nearly undid him. He backed her against the wall, thankful there was no one around and began to experimentally move down her neck.

Mary's head tilted to the side in bliss as Eustace explored her neck. No man had ever kissed her like this. Her hands dropped from his back and came to rest on his hips as she arched her back in response to his touch.

Chapuys forced himself away from Mary and looked at her.

'Princess, I do not want to make you go further than you want to,' he said, the words nearly breaking him. As Mary looked at him, wide-eyed, he began to feel true horror that he had already pushed her too far and began to backtrack. 'I am sorry Princess. I forced you into this and I should leave immediately...'

'No Eustace,' Mary said breathlessly, 'You should stay.' And she place her hands either side of his mouth and brought his lips to hers.

The simple fact that it was now Mary initiating, and not Chapuys, somehow made it better for him. He felt the blood rush straight to his groin and the feeling made him pant against her mouth.

Mary paused and stared at him, puzzled. He made a decision. If they were going to do this, he would not take the king's daughter against the wall like a whore. This was her first time. It should be done properly.

He took her hand and led her to her bedchamber. It was strange he should be almost crippled with gout, but right now he did not feel it. The both went in and shut the door.

Carefully, not wanting to scare her, Chapuys sat them both on the bed and began gently kissing the back of her neck. He moved round and Mary turned and caught his lips with hers, sending another spark of desire through him. She began to tug at his collar, so he removed his jacket and sat before her in his shirt.

Unexpectedly, she slid her hand underneath and tentatively stroked his chest and back. Eustace felt his eyes roll back in his head and his head tipped back at the sensations she was producing. He unlaced her gown enough to loosen the top, laid her back on the bed and proceeded to explore her breasts with his mouth. He could see that Mary was enjoying it, if her blissed-out expression was anything to go by and when her hands resumed their play under his shirt the ache between his legs became almost unbearable.

'More, more,' Mary murmured jaggedly. 'God, don't stop.'

Taking this as a sign, Chapuys pushed up the skirt of her gown and stroked her thigh. Her eyes flew open and he immediately stopped, fearful.

'I want you, Eustace,' Mary said. 'But I must not get with child.'

'I promise, my princess,' he said and stroked her thigh again, before brushing her centre with his thumb. It was Mary now whose eyes rolled and moaned as Chapuys expertly pushed her higher and higher.

Before she exploded however, Mary managed to push away from him. It felt cold and empty, but she realised that Eustace had been neglected and that wasn't fair. She had very little idea of what to do in this situation, but fortunately her old governess Lady Salisbury had given her some basic instruction on what to expect on a wedding night and what men did to women. So she hazarded a guess and pulled at his clothing, hoping he would he would get the hint.

Chapuys felt some relief as he lowered his breeches and hose. The ache in his groin subsided a fraction, only to rocket again as Mary experimentally stroked him. At his sharp intake of breath Mary looked worried again, but relaxed when she saw him exhale.

'Are you sure?' he asked. Mary nodded and he carefully entered her.

He could immediately see it caused her pain. He went as slow as he possibly could, giving her time to adjust. For him it was torture to go so slow, she felt so good.

Eventually they were there and he began to slowly move inside her. Mary gasped a couple of times in pain at first, but then she relaxed and as the pleasure hit her, began moaning softly, climbing back up to that high she had been on.

Chapuys had not felt so alive in years. A woman he loved was around him, moaning for him and only him. He began to speed up, knowing he couldn't last much longer. His hand found and played with Mary's core, causing louder moans from her.

Fearful of being overheard and caught, Chapuys deftly tipped forward and smothered Mary's moans with his mouth. However this change in position caused Mary to fall over the edge and her convulsive moments pushed Chapuys over too. He managed to pull out of her just seconds before his vision went grey around the edges and they were swallowing each other's moans. 'Oh Mary,' he panted against her when he could form a coherent word again.

'Eustace,' Mary said unsteadily and with deep pleasure.

He gently untangled himself from Mary's arms and collapsed on the bed next to her, still catching his breath. Now that rational thought was coming back to him, he began to plan on how best to remove the evidence of their lovemaking. Fortunately there was no blood, though Chapuys knew that did not happen every time. Tipping water over the stains on her would give her excuse to change and he would retie her dress and arrange their clothing before they left the room.

He turned to find Mary looking at him. 'Planning?' she asked with a giggle.

'Of course,' he said with a smile. 'For you. Always for you.'

Their affair would be dangerous. But, Chapuys thought as he stroked Mary's cheek, she would definitely be worth it.

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**FIN**

Suitably ended? Want a sequel? Review please!


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